Eight people were arrested today for using fake identification papers to obtain official New Jersey driver's licenses in Middlesex County over a four-year period.File photo

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — Eight people were arrested today and charged with creating false identity documents to obtain official New Jersey driver’s licenses, Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Andrew Carey announced.

Carey said the investigation by a variety of federal, state, county and local agencies determined that each of the seven men and one woman acted individually to obtain driver’s licenses to get benefits given U.S. citizens.

He said the seven men were arrested during a series of early morning raids at their homes throughout Middlesex County and in Trenton. One defendant was already incarcerated at the Middlesex County jail on unrelated charges, Carey said.

“Criminals who obtain false identification documents often have nefarious intentions to use those documents to commit other serious crimes,” the prosecutor said.

Andrew McLees, special agent in charge of U.S. Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Newark, who made the arrest announcement along with Carey, said “fraudulent documents threaten the security of all citizens by making it easier for criminals to hide from law enforcement while committing a range of offenses.”

McLees said the forged documents were “a scheme that could have posed a significant threat to national security by providing aliens with false identity documents.”

The men said the wide-ranging investigation began when authorities from the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission obtained information showing the defendants fraudulently obtained driver’s licenses at state MVC offices in East Brunswick, Edison and South Plainfield.

They said the defendants forged fake identity documents, like birth certificates, and then used them to get the licenses, complete with their names and photos. In some cases, they used false names on the licenses—during the past four years.

The defendants are: Mario Crispin, 47, who is being held in the county jail; Manuel Pangol, 40, of Milltown; Nestor Valdes, 54; Freddy Chavarria, 22; Elido Torres, 45; all of New Brunswick; Daniel Henigan, 25, of Trenton; Eduardo Alegria, 36, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township; and Angelica Pinos, 36, of Jamesburg.

They are all charged with identity fraud, possession of false government documents and uttering false instruments. They each face five to 10 years in prison, if convicted. Carey said they will be tried in state Superior Court.